


The Rogue, The Ruin, and The Throne

by StardustAndAsh



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Blood, Description of Injuries, Fire, Gen, The Open Road, Violence, coda to episode 5, the gnolls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 23:14:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13691850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustAndAsh/pseuds/StardustAndAsh
Summary: Their arrival was supposed to be quiet and unnoticed. It was supposed to be just another place to rest their heads on the way to Zadash. They did not expect the fire and the body-snatching gnolls within. After several are injured, the party takes a much needed moment to rest and recover, and realizes they're growing closer than they thought.





	The Rogue, The Ruin, and The Throne

The moment the gnoll leader span around with its bow Nott knew she had made a mistake. A real mistake. Not just the kind of mistake that made Caleb roll his eyes or smack his face into his palm, but a very bad, life-threatening, real mistake. It struck her then, as the gnoll drew back on his bowstring, that the others had no idea where she was and that everything else around her was engulfed in thick, choking smoke and the orange glow of fire. Whatever bravery Nott had felt when she gave chase after the wagon fled her bones as her feet came to a stop and icy fear snaked its way around her body.

As the arrow flew towards her, Nott took a step back knowing there would be no time to dodge. The force of it embedding into her side sent her sprawling backwards onto the ash-covered cobblestones. Everything seemed so distant but the icy burn of the arrow between her ribs and the softly falling embers drifting around her. Nott’s mind became akin to her hands after far too much to drink; unable to grasp anything about her. Distantly she thought she heard another twang and whistle of a bow firing an arrow, but it was far less concerning than the realization she had at some point closed her eyes. Then Nott didn’t think about anything at all.

The fight had finished but the town was still in flames around them. It didn’t take much more than a couple anxious shouts from Beau to send them all running to the downed form of Mollymauk. An ugly black arrow was embedded in his chest a few scant inches to the right of his heart. Thick blood pooled around Jester’s hands where she was putting pressure on the wound.

“Oh god oh god oh god,” muttered Jester as she grasped the arrow with one hand and yanked. With the other she sunk healing magic into Molly’s chest. In the light of her magic Molly’s chest knitted itself together and slowly his eyes fluttered open to look at the circle of concerned faces above him.

“Well, that was a bit of excitement I hope we won’t be repeating anytime soon,” said Molly.

“I hope not because it is a lot of work healing you after every little battle,” whined Jester as she wiped her hands on Molly’s robes. “I think I should at least get something. Maybe some gold or like a nice pastry at the next inn we stop at.”

Molly pushed himself to his feet with shaking arms. No matter how much Jester was able to heal the wound, the blood loss remained the same. He could go for a strong drink and a long sleep. Preferably without any of his new friends bothering him in the middle of the night. And also preferably after they put out the fire blazing on all sides. Though that seemed like more of a task for the Crownsguard than himself.

It was Caleb who drew their attention to the fact that one of their party was missing. He peered into the smoke with reddening eyes. Even if he had dark vision it would have been useless against the thick press of black smoke and the ash and embers swirling between the ruined houses.

“Has anyone seen Nott?” asked Caleb, failing to keep the worry from shaking his voice.

“Not since the start of the fight,” said Jester with a shake of her fluffy blue head.

Beau shrugged and glanced around for their smallest companion. Like Caleb her vision was blocked by smoke and ash.

“I saw her just ahead. She was following the gnoll’s wagon,” said Mollymauk. He took a few steps forward but was quickly outpaced by Caleb as he dashed ahead through the smoke.

He nearly tripped over Nott’s still body.

Caleb’s foot collided with something soft and it took some ungraceful hopping to remain on his feet rather than going sprawling face first into the cobblestones. When he turned around he almost didn’t see Nott. It was nearly impossible to make out her small form from the grey of the ash surrounding her. The only thing that gave her away was the green of her skin poking out from under her grey hood.

Caleb scooped her limp body into his arms. Instantly his fingers found the wet patch in her side. As he moved Nott, there was a small clatter as something came unstuck from the blood dampening her clothes and dropped against the stones. With dread forming in the pit of his stomach Caleb looked at the object and saw another black arrow rolling across the ground. Its shaft was splintered and bent. It didn’t take more than a second for Caleb to realize what had happened; The arrow had gone straight through Nott, and she had fallen on top of it.

“Jester, we need help over here!” shouted Caleb.

With one trembling hand he gently pulled the porcelain mask away from Nott’s face. It came away not without some stickiness. In the glow of the fire around them he could see the inside of the mask was coated with blood. The side of her face was caked in drying blood and Caleb could see the source was a gash in her neck. Caleb’s heart stopped. quickly, he licked one filthy fingertip and thrust it under Nott’s nose. Nothing. Nothing. Then, just as he was about to give up on his little friend, a faint breath ghosted across his fingertip.

Through the haze of smoke appeared Jester. The others were close behind, but stayed back to let Jester have enough room to work her magic. Molly had one arm looped over Fjord’s shoulders to keep himself upright as he swayed on his feet. Jester knelt down next to Caleb.

“Please,” was all Caleb could say.

“You guys sure demand a lot from me,” said Jester, though without the usual ribbing tone.

In a flash of magic and muttered words the wounds on Nott’s neck and side began to close. It took another minute for her to open her big yellow eyes and look around at all of them in confusion.

“Hey Caleb,” said Nott with a cough. “Where did the gnolls with the wagon go?”

“Who cares about that, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere else?” asked Caleb, checking her over with his  eyes to make sure there wasn’t any hidden injuries.

“With my healing, there’s nothing to worry about,” said Jester, standing up and wiping her hands on Fjord’s coat.

Nott took a second to take stock. Ten fingers, ten toes, her small pouch for her collection, Caleb. Everything in order. Well, not everthing. The town was still on fire after all. And the gnolls were gone with all those bodies. Nott’s stomach rolled at the thought of all those people being eaten. Actually, all of her rolled. She took a steadying step forward before pitching sideways into Caleb. Familiar arms scooped her up and with practised ease shuffled Nott into a piggyback.

It took a long time for the Crownsguard to wrangle any sense of control back over the village. Long enough that Beau and Jester managed to claim ears off more dead gnolls than the entire party had a hand in killing. Slowly, fires were put out and people began returning to the streets.

Nott had dozed against Caleb’s shoulder throughout the calming of the chaos. She had already been exhausted before they had even reached the village’s outskirts. Now, in the early hours of the morning, Nott had never known such a longing for a proper bed. The party had made their way to an inn that was only slightly singed and still relatively functional and all but collapsed into seats around a table near the stone fireplace. Mollymauk did actually collapse, but he did it with such a flourish Nott couldn’t be sure if it was intentional or not. Nott settled herself in place between the solid walls of Caleb and Beau, enjoying the warmth the two humans put out. It didn’t escape her eyes that Beau was sporting new bandages around her forearms that were dotted with blood in a bite-like pattern. All of them were a little rough for wear. And none of them made any moves to go upstairs to bed. Eventually the barkeep brought them all a mug of something they all began to nurse.

It was nice, to be part of a group. Nott was glad they had all somehow managed to survive everything tonight. She watched as Molly and Jester tried to convince Fjord to let Molly read his fortune, the cards dancing around Molly’s fingers with ease.

“Come now, you must have something in your life that needs an answer,” said Molly, flipping one card up from the deck to roll across the back of his hand before returning to the shuffle.

Jester nodded encouragingly over his shoulder. “Come on Fjord it’ll be fun!”

“Uh, I think I’ll just have another round,” said Fjord, staring hard into the bottom of his mug.

“Are you sure?” purred Mollymauk, leaning close and fanning a hand of cards against his face with a catlike grin. It didn’t escape anyone that one many-ringed hand was clutched against his ribs where the arrow had been hours earlier.

“Yeah. Why don’t you give Beau a try?” suggested Fjord, inching away from Molly in his chair.

Beau leaned forward with interest. “Yeah Molly, give it a shot, what do the cards predict for me?”

Molly sighed, but obligingly shuffled once more. With a grandiose wave of his arm he spread the top three cards from the deck out on the table in front of him. Laid out were the Star, Knight, and The Fates. All three cards were faded but the images were beautifully rendered and the script impeccable. All of them, even Fjord, leaned forward to hear the reading.

“Aah, you must be a lucky one. You’ve recently come into a new skill, and during the fight you were an impeccable warrior, as all of us were witness to. And now this card,” said Molly, tapping The Fates with his finger, “this is for the future. You’ll have the ability to avoid a nasty encounter if you have the foresight to flee danger.”

By the end Beau was leaning forward over the table, staring reverently at Molly and the cards.

“So you’re saying like, I have a bad situation detector now?”

“No?” said Molly, shuffling the cards back into their deck.

“Oh my god Molly that’s so cool. I didn’t know you could do that,” said Beau with a grin.

Then Molly started laying down three cards in front of Nott. All were face down. Over the table he asked Nott permission with his eyes. Nott glanced up at Caleb, who gave her a shrug and a smile, before nodding at Molly. Slowly, Molly flipped over each card. First was the Rogue, then the Ruin. Molly frowned at those before turning over the last: the Throne. Nott sat up straighter, curiosity overcoming her exhaustion.

“You’ve been through some hard times my friend, but at least I can tell you that you’ve some proper friends in the making, perhaps even a real family,” said Molly, quickly shuffling the Rogue and Ruin back into the deck, letting her focus on the Throne card. The good card, Nott guessed.

A family did sound nice. Caleb was already her family. Way more than her clan had ever been her family before she left. She let herself relax into their presence. After all, she wouldn’t still be here without Jester’s healing. And she had followed Beau into the burning building and helped her fight all those gnolls.

“Thanks Molly,” said Nott as she drained her mug and let out a jaw-cracking yawn. She snuggled herself into Caleb’s side and listened to the conversation ebb and flow around her. She drifted off sometime between Fjord making a deadpan joke and Jester asking for suggestions for her notebook sketches. When Nott woke up hours later to the sun streaming in through the inn’s windows and a pile of her friends jackets and robes on top of her like a makeshift nest it was with a warm smile and a hopeful heart.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sorry this is garbage but i needed to write this as a sort of catharsis after episode five. hopefully episode six gives us the real fallout from the fight but as of right now i just need them all to hug it out or something.


End file.
